Mo Salah confirms ONGOING Saudi talks | OneFootball

© IMAGO - Mohamed Salah Richard Hughes Liverpool 2024-25

Salah: 'Playing in the Saudi League was a good opportunity'

Last week, it was announced that Salah was to be the recipient of the Football Writers' player of the year, which is an award that is decided by journalists covering the Premier League.

At the ceremony, he sat down with Ismail Mahmoud at WinWin, and disclosed what he was thinking while Liverpool struggled to offer him a contract extension with favourable terms for him to stay.

He said: "I though playing in the Saudi league was a good opportunity. It thought if I didn't renew my contract with Liverpool, I'd go and play in Saudi Arabia. But in the end, I agreed with Liverpool.

"I was open to the idea of playing in the Saudi league. I have a good relationship with the officials there, and it still is ongoing. They were very welcoming of the idea of me joining, and they valued me very much.

"Liverpool fans were part of the process of renewing my contract. They put pressure on the board because I've been at the club for seven years, I knew from day one that they wanted me to stay."

As such, it seems as though Liverpool was always his number one option, but it took a gargantuan effort for all the puzzle pieces to finally fit together. Fortunately, a compromise was reached.

The Egyptian's quality, nor his longevity were ever real concerns, but the club has always been wary about offering big contracts to players in their 30s, and so understandably the negotiation was tough.

He now remains the highest paid player at the club, and justifiably so. At 32, he is still world class.

But this is not to say that the interest from Saudi Arabia has magically gone away. When the summer of 2027 arrives, we are likely to have yet another conversation about where Salah's future lies.

In the interview, he added: "I will stop playing football when I feel like it. I think I can continue until I am 39 or 40. I don't know if I will continue at Liverpool during that period or not, but I am happy now, and I will continue with Liverpool for two seasons."

Of course, we'll have to wait and cross that bridge when we get to it, and the stance about a deal new might well have changed by then. But for the time being, let's just enjoy Salah while we have him.